In the heart of Texas with UT (among the nation's top 10 biggest universities) and UTSA and Texas State just down the road, student housing plays a big role in the hot multifamily market, says FourPoint Student Housing Investments principal Chris Epp (with director of private client services Meredith Wolff and principal Chris Bancroft). The trio (who previously led the student family division for multifamily powerhouse, ARA Real Estate Investment Services) just launched the firm and tells us there are three areas multifamily owners and developers should watch for: amenities, proximity to campus, and investment opps.
No one is building cheap projects, Chris Epp tells us. As the new units deliver (about 140,000 beds nationally for fall '14 and about the same for fall '15), it’s an amenities race. Chris Bancroft says it goes back to the early 2000s when dedicated student housing spun off of traditional multifamily. (Like how Baby Gap spun out of the Gap.) Every year developers would add more new amenities and that’s continued. Location, too, has been playing a large role in new projects.
There may be some unique value-add buying opportunities on the horizon in the student housing market as the 10-year conduit and CMBS debt comes due in the next two to four years. Most of that product is a little further away from campus and about 10 to 15 years old. These ownership entities—many of which are held in a TIC structure—may be looking to sell or be forced to sell because of maturing debt positions in the deals, Chris Epp tells us. The guys say they already have 10 listings and are working on getting another dozen or so projects to sell. Chris Bancroft tells us he's reading The Frackers and is headed to Rhode Island with his family for Independence Day. Chris Epp is headed to Maine with his family at the end of July.
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